Department for Transport

Department for Transport	: Buildings

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of his Department's estate is (a) rented, (b) owned and (c) occupied through any other type of agreement.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: As part of the Government’s Transparency Agenda information about Department for Transport properties is published on the data.gov.uk website. Information on the properties rented, owned and occupied through any other type of agreement is available via the following web link: https://data.gov.uk/dataset/epimstransparency

Taxis: Wheelchairs

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of s165 of the Equality Act 2010 in ensuring that wheelchair users are able to hire taxis.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Wheelchair users should be able to travel by taxi and private hire vehicle free from the fear of discrimination, which is why we commenced the remaining provisions of s.165 and s.167 of the Equality Act 2010 last year. An increasing number of licensing authorities are applying the requirements to drivers within their jurisdiction and we encourage the remainder to do likewise. Producing the list of wheelchair accessible vehicles provides greater protection and also increases awareness among drivers and vehicle owners of the duties and responsibilities this places on them. We meet regularly with our statutory advisors, the Disabled Persons’ Transport Advisory Committee, regarding this and other issues affecting the travelling experience of disabled passengers, and we will continue to monitor the efficacy of the policy.

Trains: North of England

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 5 March 2018 to Question 130371, how many (a) new and (b) refurbished TransPennine Express trains will be released by the year 2020.

Joseph Johnson: By 31st March 2020, TransPennine Express expect to have 44 new trains available, with 29 of their older trains refurbished ‘as new’.

Department for Transport: Assets

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much money his Department has raised from the sale of (a) assets, (b) land and (c) buildings in each year since 2010.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The information requested can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Workers (Definition and Rights) Bill

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when (a) he and (b) a Minister of his Department plans to meet the hon. Member for Glasgow South West to discuss the Workers (Definitions and Rights) Bill.

Andrew Griffiths: On 8 March my Private Office contacted the hon Member offering a meeting to discuss his Bill. They are still awaiting a response. As he will be aware, Government has launched four consultations in response to the Taylor review and intends to engage with as many stakeholders and interested parties as possible in order to inform our next steps. This includes a consultation that discusses issues around employment status and the worker status. I encourage him to feed in and respond.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Buildings

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proportion of his Department's estate is (a) rented, (b) owned and (c) occupied through any other type of agreement.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office estate includes non-residential and residential properties in the UK and overseas. The proportion of holdings by tenure type is stated below. OwnedLeasedLoaned43%56%1%

Gui Minhai

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his counterparts in (a) Hong Kong and (b) the People’s Republic of China on the case of the missing Hong Kong bookseller, Gui Minhai.

Mark Field: I remain concerned at the developments surrounding Swedish National Gui Minhai, who was first detained, along with British national Lee Po and three others, in late 2015. We have repeatedly raised these cases at the most senior levels with the authorities in Hong Kong and Beijing. Following Mr Gui’s latest detention in January 2018, our Ambassador in Beijing raised the case with Vice Minister at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang Chao, and my officials continue to liaise closely with Swedish and other EU counterparts. The EU have released two statements calling for Mr Gui’s release, which we fully support.

Andargachew Tsege

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his counterpart in the Government of Ethiopia on the imprisonment of British citizen Andy Tsege in that country.

Harriett Baldwin: The Foreign Secretary raised Mr Tsege's case with the Ethiopian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister at the African Union-EU Summit in November 2017, and subsequently raised Mr Tsege's case again with Foreign Minister Workneh in January this year. Our Ambassador also continues to raise Mr Tsege's case at the highest levels at every opportunity and Ministers continue to monitor the case very closely.

Azerbaijan: Human Rights

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his counterpart in the Azerbaijan Government on human rights in that country.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​The Government monitors the human rights situation in Azerbaijan closely and regularly presses the government to meet its international obligations. I raised human rights with President Aliyev and Deputy Foreign Minister Khalafov during my visit to Azerbaijan in September. In recent months UK officials in Baku have raised concerns over a range of issues including the conviction of journalist Afghan Mukhtarli and pressure faced by Azerbaijan's human rights lawyers.

Israel: Palestinians

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to Israeli counterparts on the continued use of live fire by Israeli naval forces against fishermen off the coast of Gaza.

Alistair Burt: Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv have previously raised our concerns with the Israeli authorities over the Israel Defence Force's use of live fire against fishermen.

Israel: Palestinians

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Office, how many people involved in the transfer of Palestinian children out of the West Bank to prisons inside Israel entered the UK in 2017.

Alistair Burt: The Government does not request or hold the information highlighted.

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of including a statement on the right to freedom of religion or belief in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Joint Communiqué.

Alistair Burt: We are currently working with fellow member states to negotiate the communiqué for next month's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. While it would be inappropriate to comment on those negotiations, the UK considers freedom of religion and belief to be one of the Commonwealth's core values.Encouraging member states to uphold the values and principles enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter – which include freedom of religion as well as democracy, freedom of expression, the rule of law and opposition to all forms of discrimination – will be an important part of April's summit.

Democratic Republic of Congo: International Covenant On Civil and Political Rights

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken in partnership with his international counterparts to encourage the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to adhere to the terms of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Harriett Baldwin: The Government is deeply concerned about the human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Following the violent clampdown on protestors on 31 December and 21 January, the UK released statements condemning the violence and calling for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.We continue to support the UN Joint Human Rights Office in their work to document human rights abuses and violations and to hold those responsible to account.The UK supported a resolution at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in June 2017 mandating an international investigation into the violence in the Kasai regions. We have repeatedly told the DRC Government that this investigation must be allowed to operate unobstructed, to hold those responsible in the Kasais to account.We have also called upon the DRC Government, as an HRC member, to demonstrate its commitment to the highest human rights standards and take decisive action against human rights abuses and violations.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Military Intervention

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on military intervention in the Democratic Republic of Congo to support the supply of humanitarian assistance to its citizens.

Harriett Baldwin: The British Government regularly discusses support to humanitarian operations by the UN peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of Congo, MONUSCO, with our international counterparts including with the Secretary General’s Special Representative, Leila Zerrougi. We will ensure that support to humanitarian operations remains part of MONUSCO’s mandate when it is renewed this month.

Commonwealth: Elections

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage free and fair elections in Commonwealth nations.

Alistair Burt: We are committed to upholding the principles of the Commonwealth Charter, including the inalienable right of individuals to participate in free and fair elections. Our High Commissions regularly engage with a range of political actors and institutions across the Commonwealth in support of those principles.We also support the work of the Commonwealth Secretariat in this field: both its co-ordination of Commonwealth Election Observer Groups and the technical assistance it provides to improve electoral systems, practice and legislation in Commonwealth member states. In addition, the UK works closely with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association to promote stronger parliamentary democracy in the Commonwealth.The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London in April will discuss the protection and promotion of democracy. The UK will also join the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, which acts as the custodian of the values and principles set out in the Commonwealth Charter

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Assets

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much money his Department has raised from the sale of (a) assets, (b) land and (c) buildings in each year since 2010.

Alistair Burt: ​The table below shows the proceeds from the sale of Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) assets​Other assetsLand & Buildings2009/10832,4949,266,1742010/11746,78419,470,1102011/121,209,25126,260,9022012/131,399,57278,861,2632013/14897,95338,689,8482014/15891,2653,028,8192015/16766,99019,986,3302016/171,004,03556,184,837The FCO does not separate value when land and buildings are sold together. The table above covers assets (mainly vehicles), land and buildings. The FCO manages its property portfolio in line with its business needs, including investment in new properties and disposal of those no longer required. Capital disposal receipts are retained for further investment by the FCO as agreed with Her Majesty's Treasury. Full details can be found in the FCO's published annual report and accounts on the gov.uk website.

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the Government’s priorities are for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit in April 2018.

Alistair Burt: We want the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting to agree tangible action across the four policy areas of prosperity, security, sustainability and fairness. These four areas have been agreed by all member states. With 60% of the Commonwealth's population under the age of 30, we believe it is particularly important that the summit speaks to the challenges faced by young people and addresses their ambitions. We also want the summit to celebrate the people to people and civil society ties that makes the Commonwealth such a unique and important institution.

Department of Health and Social Care

Rare Diseases: Drugs

James Frith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of NICE's consideration of drugs for rare diseases.

Steve Brine: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service on whether drugs and other treatments represent an effective use of NHS resources. NICE assesses most significant new drugs through its technology appraisal programme and has been able to recommend a number of drugs licenced for the treatment of rare diseases for routine use on the NHS. NICE also operates a separate highly specialised technology evaluation programme for the assessment of very high cost drugs for the treatment of very small numbers of patients. NICE’s methods and processes for the assessment of drugs have been carefully developed over time and are internationally respected. NICE continues to keep its procedures under periodic review to ensure that they remain effective.

Smoking: Armed Forces

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce smoking prevalence rates amongst (a) serving armed forces personnel and (b) veterans; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: The Government has a proven track record in reducing the harm that tobacco causes, and in July 2017 we published a new tobacco control plan to build on that success. In the plan we commit to reducing smoking prevalence from 15.5% to 12% in adults by 2022. Our armed forces and veterans are in this category and we continue to ensure that tobacco control remains a priority to reduce health inequalities. The Ministry of Defence undertakes targeted activities to encourage defence personnel and their families to stop smoking and continues to monitor smoking prevalence among United Kingdom Armed Forces personnel, which has reduced by approximately 5% between January 2014 and January 2018.

Haematological Cancer: Mental Health Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure the adequacy of provision of (a) emotional and (b) psychological support for people with blood cancer.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to develop a support strategy for families of people with cancer.

Steve Brine: All cancer patients, including those diagnosed with blood cancer, will benefit from a tailored Recovery Package that ensures personalised care and support from the moment they are diagnosed. Patients will work with their care teams, to develop a comprehensive plan that addresses both their physical and mental health requirements as well as identify any other support they may require, such as help at home or financial advice. The Recovery Package includes Health and Wellbeing Events or Clinics. These are education and information events to support and enable people living with cancer and their families to take control and participate in their recovery, giving them necessary information, and promoting positive lifestyle change such as nutritional advice and encouragement to increase physical exercise. Health and Wellbeing Events are designed to help people get support that improves the quality of their lives, making these as long, healthy and active as possible.

Barts Health NHS Trust: Vacancies

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many vacancies there were for (a) nurses, (b) junior doctors, (c) doctors, and (d) consultants, at Barts Health NHS Trust, in each year since 2010.

Stephen Barclay: The data is not available in the format requested.

Antibiotics: Prescriptions

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure the accurate prescription of antibiotics to patients.

Steve Brine: In response to Lord O’Neill’s Independent Review on antimicrobial resistance, we have stated our ambition to halve inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics by 2020/21. To achieve these reductions, a Quality Premium is focused on driving down inappropriate prescribing in primary care and a Commissioning for Quality and Innovation Scheme is in place to incentivise appropriate prescribing in secondary care. NHS England is leading programmes both to deliver the prescribing ambition and improve the use of diagnostics.

Department of Health and Social Care: Buildings

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of his Department's estate is (a) rented, (b) owned and (c) occupied through any other type of agreement.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department owns two sites and leases four site that are used by the Department and its arm’s length bodies. One of the owned sites is now been used as part of the Parliamentary estate. It is also occupies space in three other buildings through Memorandums of Terms of Occupation with other public sector organisations. The Department also has a retained estate of 28 sites owned by the Department and six that are leased.

Clinical Commissioning Groups: Halton

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to his Answer of 8 March 2018 to Question 130486 on Clinical Commissioning Groups: Halton, what recent assessment he has made of the financial sustainability of Halton Care Commissioning Group.

Steve Brine: NHS England and NHS Improvement recently published shared planning guidance, in which it was announced that the resources available to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in 2018-19 will be increased by £1.4 billion. This will principally fund realistic levels of emergency activity, additional elective activity needed to tackle waiting lists, universal adherence to the Mental Health Investment Standard and transformation commitments for cancer services and primary care. NHS Halton CCG will receive a total allocation of around £202 million in 2018-19. This includes an increase of £5.5 million from the previous year, representing a cash terms growth in resource funding of 2.77%. NHS England advises that the CCG can reasonably be expected to set a plan to live within its means.

Respiratory System: Health Hazards

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to research by the Department of Clinical Science at Bergen University, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the findings that exposure to cleaning products can cause as much damage to lung function as smoking 20 cigarettes a day.

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of taking steps to protect cleaners from lung damage due to exposure to cleaning products; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: This is a matter for the Health and Safety Executive, the national independent regulator for work-related health, safety and illness. Under normal ventilation conditions or product use, use of household cleaning and personal care products is not a public health concern. However, there are some cleaning products that will contain hazardous substances and in such circumstances regulations will apply. In these cases the employer needs to undertake a risk assessment and where necessary put the appropriate measures in place to ensure that the products are used properly and safely. The regulations also require employers to provide information, instruction and training for all employees who use hazardous substances in their work, including the appropriate precautions and actions an employee must take to safeguard both themselves and others in the workplace.

Psychiatry: Children and Young People

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS child and adolescent psychiatrists have been employed in Kent in the last two years for which data is available.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The data is not available in the format requested.

Medical Treatments: Safety

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the reasons are for the yellow card system for reporting medical harms not including psycho-social therapies including (a) graded exercise and (b) cognitive behaviour therapy.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) regulates medicines, medical devices and blood components for transfusion within the United Kingdom. The MHRA runs the Yellow Card Scheme on behalf of the Commission on Human Medicines. The Yellow Card Scheme is the UK system for collecting and monitoring information on suspected Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs). The Yellow Card scheme was introduced in 1964 with the aim of collecting suspected ADR reports from the whole of the United Kingdom in relation to all medicines and vaccines. In addition to the collection of suspected ADR reports for medicines and vaccines, the remit of the Yellow Card Scheme also covers the collection of suspected adverse incidents related to medical devices. As cognitive behaviour therapy and graded exercise therapy are both non-pharmaceutical or medical device treatments, they do not fall under the remit of the MHRA or the Yellow Card Scheme. Therefore, any harms associated with them would not be reported to the Yellow Card Scheme.

Cancer

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to raise awareness of the heightened risk of cancer arising from the consumption of nitrate-processed meats.

Steve Brine: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) considers that the scientific evidence currently available is insufficient to identify causation directly between nitrates consumed in processed meat with an increased risk of cancer. Nitrates serve an important microbiological safety function when added to certain foods at permitted levels. The FSA works closely with the food industry to ensure that nitrates are used at the lowest possible levels to achieve their necessary technological function.

Mental Health Services: Children

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much money has been spent on commissioning non-NHS tier 4 mental health inpatient beds for young people  aged under 18 in each of the last ten years.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The information is not collected in the format requested.

Diabetes

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a list of the private sector companies which are in receipt of diabetes transformation funds.

Steve Brine: The list of private sector companies involved in the Diabetes Prevention Programme, which are in receipt, or will be in in receipt, of funding greater than £10,000 is given below.- Ingeus UK;- Living Well Taking Control;- ICS Health and Wellbeing;- Reed Momenta;- RSM – PACEC LTD;- DAC Beachcroft;- Hitachi;- Oviva;- Liva; and- Buddi-Nujjer. Information on which private sector companies are in receipt of diabetes transformation funds from clinical commissioning groups for treatment and care is not collected centrally.

Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust: Private Finance Initiative

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of trends in the levels of PFI payments to made by the Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust over the next two decades.

Stephen Barclay: The Unitary Charge payments for the new Queen’s Hospital (formerly Oldchurch hospital in Romford), for each year over the next two decades and up until the final payment in financial year 2039-40, are provided in the table below. The data is from the 2016 Private Finance Initiative (PFI) data summary sheet on the Treasury’s website. The Unitary Charge revenue payment figures include not just the financing costs (debt repayment and interest) for initial construction but also the costs of all the other services such as building maintenance and support services (cleaning, catering, portering etc.) provided over the lifetime of the contract. The payments are subject to meeting agreed performance and quality standards and include an annual uprate assumption for inflation. Financial YearEstimated Unitary Charge Payment (£ million)2017-1859.62018-1960.82019-2062.02020-2163.22021-2264.82022-2366.42023-2468.12024-2569.82025-2671.52026-2773.32027-2875.12028-2977.02029-3078.92030-3180.92031-3282.92032-3385.02033-3487.12034-3589.32035-3691.52036-3793.82037-3896.22038-3998.62039-4080.0 Further information relating to all PFI projects in the National Health Service and social care in England, including that for the new Queen’s Hospital, is available on the Treasury’s website, via: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/private-finance-initiative-and-private-finance-2-projects-2016-summary-data The health sector schemes are marked “Department of Health” and then “DH-Acute (i.e. Hospitals)”. The new Queen’s Hospital has I.D number 284.

Rare Diseases

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans the NHS in England has to adopt the definition of an ultra-rare disease as a condition with a prevalence of 1 in 50,000 or less, as used by the Montgomery Review of Access to Medicines in Scotland.

Steve Brine: The term ‘ultra-rare disease’ has been used by the National Health Service in England since about 2005 to indicate diseases with a prevalence of about 1 in 100,000 and there are currently no plans to change this definition. It should also be noted that the term ‘ultra-rare’ is only used as a guide and the prime focus is on the services needed by patients, not the rarity of a condition.

Cancer: Health Education

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government is taking steps to (a) educate young people on the risks of cancer and (b) ensure that young people attend regular check-ups.

Steve Brine: After smoking, obesity is the biggest cause of preventable cancers. Public Health England, in addition to their stop smoking campaigns, have a major focus on increasing physical activity and healthier diets for both adults and children through the One You and Change4Life programmes. Children’s cancer charities like the Teenage Cancer Trust and CLIC Sargent run awareness campaigns that are specifically designed for those age groups. There are no plans for younger people to have regular check-ups for cancer which is rare in children and young people.

Health Professions: Bureaucracy

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the average number of hours spent on administrative tasks each week by (a) nurses and (b) GPs in the latest period for which figures are available.

Stephen Barclay: No such estimate has been made. NHS Digital collects data on the Hospital and Community Health Service workforce, including nurses working in secondary care organisations and the General and Personal Medical Services workforce, including general practitioners and nurses working in general practices. However, these data do not enable NHS Digital to assess how much time is spent on any particular task by a member of the National Health Service workforce.

General Practitioners: Older People

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of GPs in England are over 50 years old.

Steve Brine: In September 2017, of those general practitioners (GPs) whose ages are known, 33.2% of GPs were 50 years of age or older. In terms of full-time equivalents, 33.5% of GP FTEs were aged 50 or over.

Mental Health: Older People

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what resources his Department has allocated to tackle loneliness among older people in the last 12 months.

Caroline Dinenage: To support the Government’s commitment to tackling loneliness, the Department has continued to embed addressing loneliness in a number of existing programmes across health and social care, including social prescribing, dementia friendly communities, mental health and carers, as well as identifying new opportunities to combat loneliness. We have seconded a Departmental official to the new central team leading the Government’s Loneliness Strategy, as well as identifying officials within the Department to coordinate our contribution to this important agenda. I am a member of the newly formed Ministerial Group on Loneliness.

Food Supply

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report by the Food Research Collaboration, Weakening UK food law enforcement: a risky tactic in Brexit, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for food security when the UK leaves the EU of the report’s conclusions on the Food Standards Agency’s programme of change, Regulating Our Future.

Steve Brine: At no point will the United Kingdom Government propose changes through the Regulating Our Future programme that would adversely impact on food security or cause difficulty to food businesses wishing to export food post European Union exit. Departments are currently working together to understand the impacts that withdrawal from the EU will have across a number of cross-cutting areas. It will be the UK Government’s priority to maintain the UK’s high standards of food and feed safety, and to ensure we take a risk-based, proportionate approach when providing risk assessments.

Department of Health and Social Care: Cleaning Services

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information he holds on the rate of remuneration for cleaners in his Department.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department does not directly employ cleaners. Cleaners employed by the Department’s contractors are paid £8.75 an hour.

Arthritis: Chiropody

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he takes to ensure that every patient newly diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis is referred to podiatry services for early examination.

Steve Brine: Provision of podiatry service is a local matter. The guideline Rheumatoid arthritis in adults: management, updated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in 2015, recommends that all people with rheumatoid arthritis who have foot problems should have access to a podiatrist for assessment and periodic review of their foot health needs. We expect commissioners to take NICE guidance into account when planning services for local populations. The guideline can be found at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg79

Dental Services

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to NHS dentists.

Steve Brine: NHS England has a legal duty to commission primary care dental services to meet the needs of the local population. NHS England also has arrangements in place to help patients who cannot find a local dentist that is accepting new patients. Access nationally remains high. 22.1 million adults saw a National Health Service dentist in the 24 months ending in 31 December 2017 and 6.9 million children in the 12 months ending in 31 December 2017. However, there are areas where there is further to go to ensure that all those who want to access NHS dental care can do so. New ways of providing primary care dental services are being tested by the Department and NHS England which aims to further improve oral health and increase access to NHS dental services, by preventing as well as treating disease. Alongside this is NHS England’s Starting Well programme, which aims to improve access to dental services for children known to be at greater risk of dental disease and who are not currently being seen by a dentist.

Regional Medicines Optimisation Committees

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with clinical commissioning groups on ensuring that guidance from the NHS England Regional Medical Optimisation Committee is implemented and that the committee is consulted on funding decisions.

Steve Brine: The intended role and function of Regional Medicines Optimisation Committees (RMOCs) has been co-developed by NHS England and National Health Service clinical commissioners on behalf of clinical commissioning groups. The status of RMOC recommendations and all other outputs are advisory. They do not affect the statutory legal responsibilities and duties of NHS organisations. Where a recommendation is made by a Committee, funding implications will be considered as part of the underpinning evidence base to support the decision making process.

Breast Cancer: Lincolnshire

Karen Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure geographical equality in the level of breast cancer care in (a) Lincoln constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

Steve Brine: Lincolnshire West Clinical Commissioning Group offer a triple assessment to all patients referred on the two week wait breast cancer pathway. This means that during an appointment the patient will see a surgeon, a mammography radiographer and a radiologist. This is in line with accepted best practice.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Karen Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England has the power to prevent the implementation of minimum waiting times for routine elective care.

Stephen Barclay: NHS England does not encourage commissioners to apply minimum waits across their contracts but rather to concentrate on interventions that help manage the demand for elective care. It remains the case that all patients should receive high quality and safe care in the right place at the right time within the 18-week Referral to Treatment standard. Clinical priority remains the main determinant of when patients should be treated followed by the chronological order of when they were added to the waiting list.

Department of Health and Social Care: Disclosure of Information

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in what proportion of cases her Department received information that it did not already hold in each month since the Memorandum of Understanding between NHS Digital and the Home Office entered into operation.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department does not receive information relating to Home Office requests for information to NHS Digital, under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The MoU is a data sharing agreement between NHS Digital, the Home Office and the Department of Health and Social Care and requests for information are made directly to NHS Digital by the Home Office. From 1 January 2017, data on the number of information requests submitted by the Home Office has been published on the NHS Digital website.

Nurses: Training

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department makes any additional maintenance funding available to student nurses who work on placements during the university holiday period each summer.

Stephen Barclay: Funding for nursing programmes is based on a 52 week academic year and therefore all clinical placements are included in universities’ standard term time and maintenance funding is available for the full year. The level of funding available to student nurses depends on their household income and is also reflective of the time they spend studying during the academic year, including time on placement. For undergraduate pre-registration nursing students who start courses on or after 1 August 2017, several additional allowances are additionally available from the Department:- Child dependents allowance – an additional payment of £1,000 per student per academic year for students with child dependents;- Travel and dual accommodation – the Government reimburses students for additional daily travel costs and pays for secondary accommodation whilst attending clinical placements; and- Exceptional hardship – £3,000 per academic year for eligible students facing severe financial hardship.

Huddersfield Royal Infirmary

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March to Question 131949 on Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, on what date the Independent Reconfiguration Panel's report on the potential downgrading of Huddersfield Royal Infirmary will be made public.

Stephen Barclay: The Joint Chairs of the Calderdale and Kirklees Joint Health Scrutiny wrote to the Department last year formally referring the National Health Service proposal, Right Care Right Time Right Place – Proposed future arrangements for hospital and community health services in Calderdale and Greater Huddersfield. We referred the case to the Independent Reconfiguration Panel in January. An announcement will be made in due course.

Social Services: Minumum Wage

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 5 March 2018 to Question 131015 on Social Services: Minimum Wage, what the (a) cost to the public purse is of and (b) procurement process was for the (i) Deloitte and (ii) Frontier Economics and Laing Buisson study of sleep-in back pay liabilities; and how many other organisations applied to undertake those studies.

Caroline Dinenage: The value of the contract for the Deloitte study was £130,000. In procuring this work, the Department utilised the consultancyOne Framework Agreement in which Deloitte were the sole bidder. The value of the contract for the larger Frontier Economics and Laing Buisson study was £300,000. In procuring this study, the Department utilised the UK Shared Business Service Research and Evaluation Framework in which two bidders responded to the requirement. Information on the Deloitte contract is available on the Contracts Finder website at: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/56b67c3f-4444-4ee2-8465-fc14cde98fdb Information on the Frontier Economics and Laing Buisson contract is available on the Contracts Finder website at: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/9b053f57-ea16-470c-99cd-7662b69f1d5a

Attorney General

Offences against Children: Prosecutions

Henry Smith: To ask the Attorney General, what steps the CPS is taking to strengthen (a) cross-agency and (b) international joint working in child abuse cases.

Robert Buckland: The use of technology means that there are more cases of child abuse that have an international element. Recent successful prosecutions in this field have seen early engagement between the CPS and the police, followed by close collaboration with our overseas prosecutors and international organisations, particularly the National Crime Agency. Cases of online abuse have highlighted the importance of using expert evidence to demonstrate the true impact on victims, which then has a direct impact on sentence.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Buildings

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what proportion of his Department's estate is (a) rented, (b) owned and (c) occupied through any other type of agreement.

Stuart Andrew: The Wales Office is a Government Department with offices in London and Cardiff. We own our London office and rent space for our Cardiff office.

Wales Office: Cleaning Services

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what information he holds on the rate of remuneration for cleaners in his Department.

Stuart Andrew: Cleaning services within the Wales Office are undertaken by outsourced providers under Ministry of Justice contracts.Rates of pay for cleaners are determined by their respective employers and are not held by the Wales Office or Ministry of Justice.All employers are obligated to pay at least the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage.

Wales Office: Assets

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much money his Department has raised from the sale of (a) assets, (b) land and (c) buildings in each year since 2010.

Stuart Andrew: The Wales Office has not sold any assets, land or buildings since 2010.

Ports: Wales

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions he has had with the (a) Secretary of State for Transport and (b) Welsh Government on checking freight at Holyhead and Pembroke docks after the UK leaves the EU.

Stuart Andrew: Minsters in the Office for the Secretary of State for Wales have regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues and Cabinet Secretaries in the Welsh Government on a number of issues related to the impact on Wales of the UK leaving the EU. The Government is committed to ensuring that withdrawal from the EU is a successful and smooth process for all parts of the UK, and we are conscious that a significant proportion of the traffic at some ports is not currently subject to customs controls. We want to ensure that traffic continues to flow freely at all UK ports and airports, including Holyhead, Fishguard and Pembroke Dock, and we will seek to ensure that customs arrangements and mechanisms are as frictionless as possible, and that trade fluidity is maintained. Officials in the Wales Office and colleagues across Government are working with port operators and other stakeholders in Wales to support the smooth and orderly implementation of these new arrangements.

Department for Education

Department for Education: Buildings

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of his Department's estate is (a) rented, (b) owned and (c) occupied through any other type of agreement.

Anne Milton: The proportion of the Department for Education’s estate that is (a) rented, (b) owned and (c) occupied through any other type of agreement is detailed in the table below.  Rented%Owned%Occupied through any other type of agreement%Total11748.510041.52410.0241

Free School Meals: Northern Ireland

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reasons Northern Ireland is not included in the Government's plans to increase the threshold for free school meals for universal credit claimants.

Nadhim Zahawi: Education policy is fully devolved in Northern Ireland, and it is for Northern Ireland to decide which of their pupils should be eligible for free school meals. In April 2017, the Northern Ireland Executive, prior to its suspension, launched a consultation on eligibility for free school meals under universal credit. This new criterion was then introduced with effect from 27 September 2017. Similarly, Scotland and Wales are not included in the threshold for free school meals – as again education policy is devolved. Scotland set their threshold lower than we set in England – and the threshold was passed without debate or opposition in the Scottish parliament.

Adult Education: Finance

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the devolution of the adult education budget on the development of literacy, numeracy and digital skills.

Anne Milton: By devolving the Adult Education Budget to Mayoral Combined Authorities, local areas will be able to shape the delivery of skills for the benefit of their residents. To make sure that there is a quality and consistent offer throughout, the department will continue to specify which qualifications will be eligible for full funding through the English, mathematics and digital statutory duties.

Workers Educational Association

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what public funding has been provided to the Workers Educational Association in each of the last three years; and what plans the Government has to fund the Workers Educational Association in the future.

Anne Milton: The table attached shows the amount funding paid by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) to the Workers Educational Association for the past three funding years (from August to July). The Workers Educational Association are in scope to receive an allocation and will be notified of the amount of funding available to them shortly. For 2018 to 2019, the ESFA will continue to allocate the Adult Education Budget (AEB). From 2019 to 2020, responsibility for the AEB will be devolved to eight Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) and the Greater London Authority. Once authorities take on the role they will, within the agreed conditions of their devolution deal, be responsible for commissioning AEB provision in their local areas, having the freedom to set their own priorities, whilst still being subject to the statutory duties of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State. This will allow them to focus on meeting local area need and delivering local economic objectives.The ESFA will continue to allocate funding to providers that do not deliver in the devolved areas. 



Table
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Department for Education: Recruitment

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which external recruitment agencies are used by his Department's non-departmental public bodies.

Anne Milton: Holding answer received on 19 March 2018



The Institute for Apprentices have used Gatenby Sanderson and the Office for the Children’s Commissioner have used Hays in this financial year.

Mature Students: Student Wastage

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Higher Education Statistics Agency's non-continuation performance indicators, published on 8 March, what steps he he is taking to tackle the increase in non-continuation rates for mature students.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The data published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) on 8 March 2018 shows that the non-continuation rate for mature students has remained broadly similar over recent years, regardless of course type or mode of delivery. The vast majority of higher education students complete their courses and achieve their chosen qualification. However, we are not complacent. We want everyone with the potential to benefit from higher education to be able to do so but we recognise that some students are at a higher risk of ‘dropping out’. The Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework includes a metric that measures continuation rates. Institutions with below average retention rates will receive a negative flag, which may affect their overall award. This will incentivise institutions to take measures to improve retention rates. Within the first access and participation guidance to the Office for Students (OfS), my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State has asked the OfS to encourage higher education providers, when developing their access and participation plans, to build on work already underway aimed at improving student retention. This guidance also asks the OfS to encourage providers to consider the recruitment and support of mature learners.

Pre-school Education: Recruitment

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Early Years Workforce Strategy published in March 2017, what assessment his Department has made of (a) the feasibility of and (b) the potential timescale for increasing the graduate early years workforce working in disadvantaged areas.

Nadhim Zahawi: We are considering a range of approaches to supporting graduates in the early years workforce, including in disadvantaged areas, and their feasibility. This work is still underway.

Further Education: ICT

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the decision to reduce Jisc’s funding and introduce fees for further education colleges to pay for essential IT infrastructure and technology support services on the adequacy of provision of those services.

Anne Milton: Our assessment is that introducing a mixed funding model including an element of subscription will increase Jisc’s accountability to colleges as its customers. Over time, we expect this relationship to drive greater efficiency in the service Jisc provides, and to encourage colleges that subscribe to make full use of the services available.

Further Education: ICT

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support his Department will provide to further education colleges that are unable to meet the cost of fees for Jisc’s essential IT infrastructure and technology support services as a result of the funding changes to Jisc.

Anne Milton: We expect all colleges to continue to either access Jisc services, or to contract with an alternative provider who can provide a secure service. We have provided an additional £6 million to Jisc on top of their spending review settlement to enable the introduction of a mixed funding model to be delayed until August 2019 to enable colleges to prepare. The government will continue to contribute the majority of Jisc’s costs after the introduction of a mixed funding model. Introducing subscriptions will increase Jisc’s accountability to colleges as its customers, and will encourage colleges that subscribe to make use of the full range of services that Jisc provides.

Educational Institutions: Cybercrime

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many cyber security related incidents affected (a) further education colleges and (b) higher education institutions in 2017.

Anne Milton: The Department for Education does not hold this information. Jisc, who provide ICT infrastructure services to further education (FE) colleges and higher education (HE) institutions, reported that in 2017 the Jisc Security Operations Centre responded to 5,023 security incidents or queries from HE and FE in England. These include malware, phishing, copyright infringements, compromise, denial of service and RIPA requests. The impact of an incident varies greatly from minimal to significant. Of these 1,389 incidents or queries were from FE institutions in England and 3,634 from HE institutes.

Further Education: Cybercrime

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential risk to cyber security of further education colleges deciding to opt-out of paying for Jisc’s essential cyber security support services as a result of the decision to reduce Jisc’s funding and introduce subscription fees.

Anne Milton: At present further education colleges benefit from the high quality of cyber-security offered through Jisc. Any college who chooses to opt out from using Jisc services will need to ensure they have an appropriate level of cyber-security in place in order to safeguard their systems, staff and learners. Provided they do so, there should be no additional risk.

Adult Education: Finance

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2018 to Question 132172, on Adult Education: Finance, for what reason it is necessary to be a residential provider to qualify for that transitional funding.

Anne Milton: Providers which meet the following criteria will be funded nationally by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) for a period of two years (academic years 2019/20 and 2020/21) following devolution of the Adult Eudcation Budget (AEB): Qualify for a residential uplift for their learning provision, andReceive more than two thirds of their income from the AEB, andPredominantly target their provision at the most disadvantaged in society. Following devolution in 2019/20 providers who currently deliver AEB provision nationally who fall outside of the above criteria for national funding will continue to receive funding for the learners residing in non devolved areas from the ESFA. It will be for the Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) and the Greater London Authority (GLA) to decide which providers they award funding to in their respective areas. The department is planning to devolve the AEB to MCAs and the GLA in 2019/20. We have carefully considered the case for centralised funding for specialist providers for an interim period following devolution to ensure continued support for both providers and their learners through a longer transition period. Providers who deliver residential provision have distinctly different funding arrangements, and we felt an additional period of two years of national funding would be in the learners best interests, in order to avoid destabilising provision to vulnerable learners and to allow time for MCAs to better understand the specialist nature of the provision they deliver.

Adult Education: Finance

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March to Question 132171, on adult education: finance, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of those proposed changes on (a) WEA and (b) other national providers.

Anne Milton: The wider devolution deals made with the areas in scope for receiving the Adult Education Budget acknowledged that robust foundations were needed before the functions could be transferred. This included that arrangements were agreed between central government and the local area, and in place to ensure that devolved funding decisions take account of the need to maintain a sustainable and financially viable post-16 provider base. This is currently ongoing and we are working hard to ensure these arrangements are in place before the academic year 2019/20.

Pre-school Education: Teachers

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his Answer of 13 March 2018 to Question 131756, what the reasons are for the feasibility study taking longer than March 2018 to be completed; and what the timetable is for completion of that study.

Nadhim Zahawi: As stated in response to Question 131756, we are considering a range of approaches to supporting graduates in the early years workforce and their feasibility, which will inform advice to the minister on future early years graduate policy. This work is underway.

Schools: Counselling

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of mandating the provision of access to counselling in schools and colleges.

Nick Gibb: School based counselling plays a role as part of a ‘whole school’ approach to supporting mental health and wellbeing. 61% of schools offer counselling services, with 84% of secondary schools providing their pupils with access to counselling support.[1] The Government has provided advice on how to deliver school based counselling, available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/counselling-in-schools. The Department has not made the provision of access to counselling in schools and colleges mandatory. Schools have the freedom to decide what mix of support to offer pupils based on their particular needs. The green paper ‘Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision’ proposed significant further guidance to schools to make these decisions. New Mental Health Support Teams will increase the provision available to pupils with emerging mental health problems. The green paper proposals offer additional funding for new professionals trained in evidence-based interventions, with supervision from expert clinicians. The teams will also provide better routes into specialist NHS services for the pupils that need them. [1] Supporting Mental Health in Schools and Colleges (2017)

Ministry of Justice

Victim Support Schemes

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many victim liaison officers have been employed to work in each constituency in each year since 1 June 2014.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many victim liaison officers have been employed to work in each region in each year since 1 June 2014.

Dr Phillip Lee: Information is provided for each complete year since the formation of the National Probation Service in 2014. As explained in response to previous Questions, information relating to the preceding period is not available. There are 573 Parliamentary constituencies in England & Wales. In 2015-16 and 2016-17, there were 169 Victim Liaison Officers in England & Wales (1 for every 3.4 constituencies); in 2017-18 there were 189 (1 for every 3 constituencies). The following table provides a breakdown by NPS Division (Region). Victim Liaison Officer Staff Resource by NPS Division  NPS Division2015-162016-172017-18 NPS London Division171723 NPS Midland Division252532 NPS North East Division393939 NPS North West Division383835 NPS South East & Eastern Division141430 NPS South West & South Central Division222222 NPS Wales Division141410 Total for NPS England and Wales 169169189  Note: Figures in 2017-18 do not add up to total owing to rounding. The Government is carrying out a review of the Transparency of the Parole Board and victim support, which we expect will be concluded by Easter, when will set out our next steps. We have already made good progress in making victim contact more compassionate, clearer and more informative, the ongoing review will ensure we improve services and better support victims. The staffing budget dedicated to the Victim Contact Scheme has increased from £8.0 million to £9.6 million since the creation of the NPS in 2014 and the number of VLOs has increased nationally from 169 to 189 staff over the same period. There has also been a significant increase in the number of administrative staff, from 47 to 76 posts, employed to support the work of VLOs, which has freed up VLOs so they can focus on better supporting victims.

Victim Support Schemes

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average salary for a victim liaison officer has been in each year since 1 June 2014.

Dr Phillip Lee: Victim Liaison Officers are graded at probation service officer (PSO) pay band 3. The following table shows average salary at that pay band during the years in question:  14-1515-1616-1717-18  ££££Band 3 PSO Overall Average25,10125,03325,25025,250 Prior to the implementation of Phase 1 of the E3 Programme recommendation in relation to VLO grading (2016), a minority of VLOs in certain parts of the country were graded at pay band 4. These staff received three years’ pay protection following the change. Average salaries at pay band 4 during the years in question were as follows: Band 4 Other Overall Average32,90032,94932,68032,679  These are average figures: variations may reflect changes in average length of service. Note: Based on full time equivalent salary and London weighting where relevant. All other allowances are excluded. The Government is carrying out a review of the Transparency of the Parole Board and victim support, which we expect will be concluded by Easter, when will set out our next steps. We have already made good progress in making victim contact more compassionate, clearer and more informative, the ongoing review will ensure we improve services and better support victims.The staffing budget dedicated to the Victim Contact Scheme has increased from £8.0 million to £9.6 million since the creation of the NPS in 2014 and the number of VLOs has increased nationally from 169 to 189 staff over the same period. There has also been a significant increase in the number of administrative staff, from 47 to 76 posts, employed to support the work of VLOs, which has freed up VLOs so they can focus on better supporting victims.

Ministry of Justice: Amey

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2018 to Question 130494 on Ministry of Justice: Amey, what the evidential basis is for private contractors achieving the majority of their contractual targets.

Rory Stewart: The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Carillion

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the (a) courts and (b) tribunals that had contracts with Carillion for the provision of services.

Rory Stewart: The Ministry of Justice does not have any direct contracts with Carillion for the provision of services at Courts and Tribunals. However, the Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Services (HMCTS) contract with a SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) for 2 Private Finance Initiative (PFI) Contracts. The SPV entered into subcontracts with Carillion for the provision of Facility Management services. These PFI Contracts cover the following Courts: East Anglia Courts PFIo Ipswich Crown Court;o Cambridge Crown Court.Humberside Courts PFIo Hull Magistrates Court;o Beverly Magistrates Court;o Bridlington Magistrates Court. Facilities Management services have continued as normal whilst a suitable replacement provider is identified.

Bedford Prison

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2018 to Questions 131226, 131234 and 131225 on Bedford Prison, for what reasons the separate incidents were not referred to in that answer.

Rory Stewart: As stated in my response to PQs 131225 and 131226, we are currently considering proposals to publish information routinely on concerted indiscipline and incidents at height and will confirm such plans when a decision has been reached. We would not want to undermine these considerations by publishing the information at this stage of the process.

Prison Officers

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the standard rate of subsistence paid to prison officers on detached duty per overnight stay is.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has plans to change the level of subsistence paid to prison officers on detached duty.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, How much money has been spent on subsistence payments to prison officers on detached duty in each year since 2010.

Rory Stewart: Prison Officers do a challenging and vital job to help protect the public and we are committed to making sure we have enough staff to deliver safe regimes in our prisons. In 2016 the former Secretary of State announced HMPPS would be recruiting an additional 2,500 prison officers by December 2018. The standard rate of overnight subsistence paid to Prison Officers is £25 per 24 hour period and there are no plans to change the current subsistence rates. Detached duty is one of the sensible and proportionate measures we take to cover resourcing pressures and ensure we run safe and decent regimes in prisons as well as being able to respond appropriately to any operational issues that arise. It is not possible, without incurring disproportionate cost, to determine how much money has been spent on subsistence payments to prison officers on detached duty in each year since 2010. The reason for this is that centrally held financial records cannot disaggregate the costs of accommodation and subsistence claimed for detached duty from other expenses claimed by staff, for example when attending training.

Treasury

Income Tax: Thornbury and Yate

Luke Hall: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people are estimated to benefit from the rise in the tax free personal allowance during the 2017-2018 financial year in Thornbury and Yate constituency.

Luke Hall: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people are estimated to benefit from the rise in the tax free personal allowance during the 2017-2018 financial year in south Gloucestershire.

Luke Hall: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of people in the South West who benefited from the increase in the tax free personal allowance in 2017-18.

Mel Stride: Since the start of the 2015 Parliament, increases to the personal allowance (up to £11,500 in 2017-18) are expected to cut income tax for 2.7 million individuals in the South West, which includes Gloucestershire and the Parliamentary Constituency of Thornbury and Yate. These estimates are based on the 2013-14 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility’s March 2016 Economic and Fiscal Outlook. HM Treasury does not publish this information at constituency level or unitary authority level.

Mineworkers' Pension Scheme

Grahame Morris: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will provide a bespoke HMRC helpline for recipients of a Mineworkers' Pension who have received incorrect tax information.

Mel Stride: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is aware of this issue, which was caused by a payroll provider giving HMRC incorrect information. At present there are no plans to set up a bespoke helpline. However, customers who are concerned about their tax position can access their Personal Tax Account by visiting www.Gov.UK or contact HMRC on the helpline 0300 200 3300. HMRC will be issuing the correct tax codes to all those affected and will make sure no one loses out as a result of this issue.

Mineworkers' Pension Scheme

Grahame Morris: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when HMRC plans to issue revised tax statements to people in receipt of a Mineworkers' Pension who have received incorrect tax information.

Grahame Morris: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people in receipt of a Mineworkers' Pension who have received incorrect tax information.

Mel Stride: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is aware that members of the Mineworkers Pension scheme were sent incorrect tax statements because inaccurate data was provided to HMRC. They are currently working with the pension provider to correct the position after which revised tax statements will be issued. Nobody will lose out as a result.

Mineworkers' Pension Scheme

Grahame Morris: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if the Government will make compensation available for the (a) distress caused and (b) additional costs incurred by recipients of a mineworkers pension who have received incorrect tax information.

Mel Stride: As a matter of principle, HMRC consider redress where they have made a mistake and/or caused an unreasonable delay when dealing with a customer’s tax affairs. In such circumstances, redress could be made to cover costs directly incurred because of their mistake/unreasonable delay, and would also consider the impact of the mistake on the customer.

Renewable Energy: VAT

Grahame Morris: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to reduce VAT on (a) power walls and (b) other renewable energy products intended for domestic use.

Mel Stride: The government applies a reduced rate of VAT to the installation of a number of energy-saving materials, including insulation and solar panels. While all taxes are kept under review, the application of further reduced rates is strictly limited by EU law. Our future relationship with the EU, including on VAT, is subject to negotiation. Any future decisions on VAT will continue to be taken in line with the normal Budget process.

Gift Aid

Layla Moran: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what (a) assessment he has made of the potential benefits to charities and (b) estimate he has made of the potential cost to the public purse of introducing a de minimis limit of £20 on retail Gift Aid claims made by charity shops.

Robert Jenrick: The Government keeps all taxes and tax reliefs under review. In 2017 HMRC set up a Working Group with the charity sector to improve people’s understanding of Gift Aid and to review any areas of the process that can be improved. One of the issues that has come up as part of that working group is the question of whether charity shops could stop sending letters to their donors if the goods that have been donated have been sold for less than a certain amount, for example £20. The working group is continuing to explore all options, and officials are meeting with members of the working group to discuss this specific issue in April.

Treasury: Assets

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much money his Department has raised from the sale of (a) assets, (b) land and (c) buildings in each year since 2010.

Robert Jenrick: Proceeds raised from the sale of (a) assets, (b) land and (c) buildings is provided in the table below. The number provided for (a) assets includes intangible assets, IT equipment assets, plant machinery and vehicles and furniture, fixtures and fittings. It does not include proceeds from the sale of financial assets.  Other Assets (£)Land (£)Buildings (£)2009-107,000--2010-11---2011-12---2012-1360,712--2013-14---2014-15---2015-16---2016-17---   Further information relating to sale of assets can be found in the Treasury’s Annual Reports and Accounts. www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-annual-report

Children: Day Care

Angela Rayner: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions of 13 March 2018, Official Report, column 767, what the specific circumstances affecting public sector employees in relation to childcare vouchers are; and what steps he is planning to take to address them.

Angela Rayner: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the oral contribution made by the Secretary of State for Education of 13 March 2018, Official Report, Column 804, what steps he plans to take to review his policy on the closure of childcare vouchers during the six-month delay.

Elizabeth Truss: We are replacing childcare vouchers with Tax-Free Childcare, which will provide support to nearly 1 million more families than currently use childcare vouchers. Childcare vouchers will remain open to new entrants for a further 6 months, and close to new entrants in October. Tax-Free Childcare is now fully rolled out, and we will keep it under review to ensure it’s delivering the support needed for working families. We are also listening to colleagues in Northern Ireland, regarding the circumstances of public sector employers, and have committed to ongoing engagement with them to look at these issues as tax-free childcare continues to roll out to replace employer-supported childcare.

Ports: Wales

Jo Stevens: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the state of readiness of Holyhead and Pembroke docks to enforce custom checks in the event that the UK does not agree a deal with the European Union.

Mel Stride: The Government is clear that the UK’s future customs arrangements should be as frictionless as possible, ensuring the continued free flow of trade at all UK borders, including Holyhead and Pembroke docks. The Government has engaged with a large number of businesses, ports, airports and other organisations across the UK, including from Wales, to support the smooth and orderly implementation of any new arrangements.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Buildings

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what proportion of his Department's estate is (a) rented, (b) owned and (c) occupied through any other type of agreement.

Jake Berry: The information requested is set out in the table below. Leasehold%Freehold%MOTO*%TOTALMHCLG (All incl Housing England Regeneration)180.9194998.3281.41982MHCLG (All excl Housing England Regeneration)1734.0510.02856.050 *Memorandum of Terms of Occupation

Discrimination: Finance

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding his Department has allocated to tackle (a) Islamophobia, (b) sexual orientation discrimination and (c) antisemitism in each year since 2010.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: We treat all hate crime with equal seriousness; there is no place for treating victims differently regardless of their race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or gender identity. Our funding of projects reflects this approach and that is why we fund a number of initiatives that combat hate crime across all five strands and do not allocate specific funding to target specific areas. Our work to combat religiously motivated hatred tackles anti-Muslim hatred and anti-Semitism, alongside hatred directed at any person or group based on their religion.Since 2010 the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has provided £3.7 million to local projects to challenge hate crime. We expect to spend a further £1.5 million by March 2018. This includes support for programmes such as the Anne Frank Trust's SwitchOff Prejudice programme which encourages young people to consider the consequences of prejudice, persecution and discrimination, support for community organisations such as Tell MAMA and the Community Security Trust, and establishing the Hate Crime Support Group which networks organisations tackling hatred across all five protected categories to share best practice and offer the best support for victims.

Islam: Religious Hatred

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to prevent the growth of extreme anti-Muslim views in (a) print, (b) broadcast and (c) social media.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Government recognises the harm caused by anti-Muslim views across all forms of media including print, broadcast and social media and our Hate Crime Action Plan makes clear our commitment to reducing this harm. We are working with The Society of Editors and the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) to improve journalists' understanding of minority groups and to devise training to help journalists gain a better understanding of Islam. We have also been instrumental in ensuring that four of the main internet service providers, Facebook, Google, Twitter and Microsoft, remove illegal hate speech including Islamophobic content from their platforms within 24 hours.

Community Relations

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department’s press release of 14 March 2017, how much of the £50 million of funding allocated to support the new Integrated Communities Strategy will be used to expand English for Speakers of Other Languages teaching.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The £50 million funding over the next two years supports the priorities set out in the strategy, including investment to support a new wave of the Community-based English language, the Integration Areas programme and establishing a new Integration Innovation Fund to stimulate and test innovative approaches to promoting integration. We will announce more details of how the funding is allocated following the consultation which closes on 6 June 2018.

Leasehold: Property Rights

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to reform leaseholder rights.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: On 21 December 2017, the Government announced plans to tackle unfair practices in the leasehold sector, including banning the sale of new build leasehold houses, reducing ground rents on new leasehold homes to a peppercorn, and addressing loopholes in the law to improve fairness and transparency for leaseholders and freeholders. We are also working with the Law Commission to support existing leaseholders, including making buying a freehold or extending a lease easier, faster, fairer and cheaper, and reinvigorating Commonhold to provide greater choice for consumers. We will bring forward legislation as soon as Parliamentary time allows.On 29 November 2017, my Department closed a call for evidence on protecting consumers in the letting and managing agent market, which sought views on a range of issues affecting leaseholders. The responses are currently being analysed and an announcement is expected to be made shortly.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his oral statement of 15 March 2018, Official Report, column 1018, on Building Safety, how many different fire doors his Department is testing.

Dominic Raab: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Assets

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much money his Department has raised from the sale of (a) assets, (b) land and (c) buildings in each year since 2010.

Jake Berry: Holding answer received on 21 March 2018



The Department publishes Annual Report and Accounts each year. In the accounts, the Cashflow Statement provides figures against the following lines for the Departmental Group:Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipmentProceeds from sale of intangible assetsProceeds from sale of financial assets/investmentsProceeds from sale of assets held for saleAll MHCLG Annual Report and Accounts from 2010-11 can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dclg-annual-reports-and-accountsDisaggregating these figures for each of MHCLG's Arm's Length Bodies could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his oral Statement of 15 March 2018, Official Report, column 1018 on Building Safety, whether he plans to publish the results of the fire door safety tests.

Dominic Raab: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

EU Grants and Loans: Wales

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has had any discussions with the (a) Welsh Government and (b) Welsh Local Government Association on the operation of the Shared Prosperity Fund.

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government,  whether the Government plans to permit the Welsh Assembly Government to bid for funds under the Shared Prosperity Fund programme.

Jake Berry: The Government continues to work on the design and priorities of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). We will want to discuss with the devolved administrations how the Fund might work in their nations, recognising their expertise in delivering the structural funds.The Government will consult publically on the design and priorities of the UKSPF later this year, as announced in the Industrial Strategy white paper, to make sure it meets the needs of all parts of the UK.

Ministry of Defence

Yemen: Military Intervention

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many allegations of violations of International Human Law in Yemen by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia his Department has received in each of the last 12 months; and what steps his Department has taken to investigate those allegations.

Mark Lancaster: As at 21 March 2018, the number of alleged instances of breaches or violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in Yemen listed on the "Tracker" database maintained by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is 350. Of these, 14 are duplicate entries, which means that some incidents will have been recorded on more than one occasion, likely because of the incomplete nature of Non-Governmental Organisation and media reporting upon which the MOD relies to update the "Tracker". Aggregating this information would be misleading without the addition of sensitive contextual information, which I am withholding as its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice relations between the United Kingdom and other States.The MOD does not investigate allegations of Saudi-led coalition IHL violations. The Saudi-led Coalition is best placed to do this, and does so through its Joint Incident Assessment Team. MOD analysis of alleged IHL violations is used to form an overall view on Saudi Arabia's approach and attitude to IHL.

Ministry of Defence: Buildings

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of his Department's estate is (a) rented, (b) owned and (c) occupied through any other type of agreement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The amount of the Department's estate that is rented, owned or occupied through any other type of agreement is shown below:Rented - 19,549 hectares (ha)Owned - 209,806 haOccupied through any other type of agreement - 578,349 ha

Ministry of Defence: Cleaning Services

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information he holds on the rate of remuneration for cleaners in his Department.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her in response to Question 28601 on 1 March 2016.



28601 - WQnA extract on MOD Cleaning Services
(Word Document, 21.84 KB)

Porton Down: Chemical Weapons

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to Hard as well as soft power: the case for modern defence, published by his Department on 15 March 2018, whether the £48 million funding that he announced for a new chemical weapons defence centre is in addition to the £115 million allocated to project Helios.

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the new chemical weapons defence centre at Porton Down will be separate from the new Defence Science and Technology Laboratory facilities being built there.

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page, 88, section 21, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory Annual Report and Accounts 2016-2017, when he expects the final £48.3 million for Project Helios to be approved.

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his speech, Hard as well as soft power: the case for modern defence, made on 15 March 2018, whether he has plans to review Project Helios as a result of the development of a new Chemical Weapons Defence Centre.

Guto Bebb: The £48 million funding is in addition to the funding of Project Helios. The Chemical Weapons Defence Centre (CWDC) has been designed to be built as an adjacent linked building as part of the final construction of Helios. This was done to gain maximum efficiency of construction costs and reduce overall running costs. The final phase of Project Helios has already been approved by the Ministry of Defence (MOD). The CWDC and the final build under Project Helios have been subject to review within the MOD, the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury prior to their approval.

Ministry of Defence: Assets

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much money his Department has raised from the sale of (a) assets, (b) land and (c) buildings in each year since 2010.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Income raised by the Department from the sale of surplus assets, buildings and land since 2010 is as follows: Financial YearAssets £ (million)Land and Buildings £ (million)2010-201133502011-2012231862012-2013401192013-2014451232014-2015301172015-2016493922016-201771156 Proceeds from the sale of surplus land and buildings are not reported separately.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of assessment centres have no (a) disabled parking and (b) disabled access.

Sarah Newton: The contracts awarded by DWP to carry out health assessments state that all sites must be compliant with the Equality Act 2010. Assessment providers are required to consider the needs of claimants such as proximity to public transport routes and access to suitable parking e.g. Blue badge parking (there is no requirement in the specification to provide on-site parking). Additionally, the Department for Transport (DfT) has been consulting on proposals to extend Blue Badge eligibility to include people with hidden disabilities who encounter similar levels of difficulty to those with physical disability when making their journeys. It has also recently undertaken a consultation on its draft Accessibility Action Plan (AAP), which sought views on the range of barriers potentially impacting on the ability of people with disabilities to travel confidently on the transport system. DfT are currently considering the responses to its consultation on the AAP and will publish its response to the consultation later this year. If a claimant believes they will have any difficulties attending their appointment they should discuss this with the assessment provider as soon as possible using the contact details on the appointment letter.

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit: Dupuytren's Contracture

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons she has not added Dupuytren's Contracture to the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit list of conditions.

Sarah Newton: The Department currently spends £900m a year supporting disabled people and those with health conditions through Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB). The Department carefully considered the recommendation from the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council but decided not to add Dupuytren’s contracture to the list of prescribed diseases, in order to continue to help as many people as possible, and ensure that we’re focussing support to those with the greatest needs. People with Dupuytren’s contracture who are already in receipt of IIDB for other health conditions or disabilities will continue to receive their payments at the same rate. If a person with Dupuytren’s contracture is not eligible for IIDB they may still be eligible for support through other benefits such as Personal Independence Payment or Employment and Support Allowance.

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many occasions her Department has refused to add a condition to the list of prescribed diseases following a recommendation from the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council.

Sarah Newton: The Department has rejected recommendations from the IIAC twice, once in 1981 and once in 1992.

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit: Dupuytren's Contracture

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what representations she has received on not including Dupuytren's Contracture on the list of prescribed diseases.

Sarah Newton: One Parliamentary question, PQ119611 and one item of ministerial correspondence from David Hanson MP have been received since the decision was taken not to add Dupuytren’s contracture to the list of prescribed diseases.

Universal Credit

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people receiving their first universal credit payment have had money deducted from that payment to repay debt from (a) the Social Fund and (b) other benefits; and how much and what proportion of that debt has been repaid to date.

Alok Sharma: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Children: Maintenance

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she has taken to reduce the number of people declaring incorrect incomes to avoid child support payments in the last 12 months.

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of people using limited companies to declare incorrect incomes to avoid child support payments in the last 12 months.

Kit Malthouse: The Department does not collect data on paying parents who use limited companies. The Child Maintenance Service obtains income information directly from HMRC and includes almost all sources of income declared to that Department for tax purposes. The specially trained Financial Investigation Unit (FIU) is able to look into cases where there is concern about a parent’s income. The FIU has been expanded since it was set up in 2014; and between October and December 2017 it opened over 1200 complex earner investigations. We recently consulted on a new Child Maintenance Compliance and Arrears strategy which proposed further improvements to the treatment of the income of complex earners, such as high value assets owned by a parent being used to create a notional income. Our response to the consultation will be published in due course.

Private Rented Housing: Natural Gas

Alex Chalk: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the Health and Safety Executive has the necessary powers to enforce the requirement for landlords to hold a gas safety certificate for the property they are letting.

Sarah Newton: Health and safety inspectors appointed under section 19 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA) exercise powers under section 20 of HSWA to enforce the requirement for landlords to hold a record of the gas safety check for the property they are letting.

Asylum: National Insurance

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will issue national insurance numbers to all asylum seekers when they are granted refugee status.

Kit Malthouse: For those refugees granted leave to remain as a result of a successful asylum claim, a joint fast track National Insurance Number (NINo) application process operates between DWP and the Home Office. This process has been in place since 2005 but only included the main asylum applicant. This was extended to cover all adult dependants (aged 16 or over) in the refugee’s family from 15 January 2018.Additionally from this date the NINo is now printed on the reverse of the refugees Biometric Residence Permit (BRP).

Habitual Residence Test

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of whether refugees should be required to pass a habitual residence test for benefits after being granted refugee status.

Kit Malthouse: A right to reside in the UK is one of the eligibility conditions for those claiming income-related benefits. Those that are required to provide evidence of their right to reside are subject to the Habitual Residence Test (HRT). The HRT contains two elements: an assessment of the legal right of residence and an assessment of factual habitual residence. Refugees who provide documentation which confirms their legal right to reside in the UK will satisfy the HRT. Refugees are exempt from the assessment of factual habitual residence if the Home Office have granted them leave to remain in the UK with recourse to public funds.

Employment and Support Allowance

Emma Dent Coad: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 14 February 2018 to Question 127010, on employment and support allowance, how many ESA65B letters her Department has sent to doctors.

Emma Dent Coad: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 14 February 2018 to Question 127010, on employment and support allowance, when her Department started sending ESA65B letters to GPs; and whether that policy was authorised by Ministers.

Emma Dent Coad: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 14 February 2018 to Question 127010, on employment and support allowance, if she will place a copy of the ESA65B letter that her Department sends to GPs in the Library.

Sarah Newton: The ESA65B letter is issued to GPs in every case where an Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimant has been found ‘fit for work’. This process was built into the IT system as part of the introduction of ESA in October 2008. Following a Ministerial requirement by the Cabinet Secretary, which was endorsed by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the content of the ESA65B letter has been improved in order to explain to GPs the type of support customers can expect to receive from their local Jobcentre, and to ask GPs to encourage customers in their efforts to return to work. As part of this work officials engaged with the British Medical Association and the Royal College of General Practitioners to ensure that the revised wording was fit for purpose. The Department does not hold information on the number of ESA65B letters sent to GPs. I will place a copy of the ESA65B in the House Library.

Occupational Pensions

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps to review the regulatory framework for occupational pension schemes including the Universities Superannuation Scheme.

Guy Opperman: On Monday we published our White Paper; Protecting Defined Benefit Pension Schemes, which sets out our proposals for strengthening the regulatory framework following a thorough review of the current system of pension protection.

Asylum: National Insurance

James Frith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many asylum seekers who have indefinite leave to remain are awaiting the allocation of a national insurance number.

Kit Malthouse: The department does not hold the information, however for those granted leave to remain as a result of a successful asylum claim, a joint fast track NINo application process operates between DWP and the Home Office. From 15 January 2018 the process is applicable to the principal family member and any adult dependants aged 16 or over in the refugees family, with the NINo being allocated within 48 hours of receipt of the application.

Universal Credit: Lincoln

Karen Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the effect of the reduction in funding for Lincoln’s Citizens Advice on the provision of advice to claimants of Universal Credit in Lincoln.

Alok Sharma: The Department does not directly fund Lincoln’s Citizens Advice to provide Universal Support. For 2017/18, we estimated the City of Lincoln Council’s funding to help them provide Universal Support to Universal Credit claimants to be £4,107, and for 2018/19 we are increasing this funding to £11,131 to reflect that the City of Lincoln went live with Universal Credit full service on 7 March 2018. The City of Lincoln Council has full discretion as to whether they provide this Universal Support themselves or contract out to another organisation, such as Citizens Advice.Any such sub-contraction is a matter between the council and the sub-contractor.

BBC Children in Need Appeal and National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what meetings he has had with (a) NSPCC and (b) Children in Need in the last 12 months.

Kit Malthouse: No meetings have taken place in the last 12 months between the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the NSPCC and Children in Need .

Children: Poverty

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to help end child poverty.

Kit Malthouse: This Government is committed to action that improves long-term outcomes for children and families by focusing on tackling the root causes of poverty and disadvantage. This is why we introduced statutory measures to drive action on parental worklessness and children’s educational attainment – the areas that can make the biggest difference. Improving Lives: Helping Workless Families, published in April 2017 set out the framework for a continued focus on improving outcomes for disadvantaged families and their children both now and in the future. This included an additional seven non-statutory national indicators to track progress over time. We are also undertaking the most ambitious reform to the welfare system in decades - so that it supports people to find and to stay in work. We believe that work offers families the best opportunity to get out of poverty and become self-reliant. Children living in households where all adults work are five times less likely to be in poverty than those in workless households.

Funeral Payments

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions,  if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the level of the cap on Social Fund Funeral Payments to cover the basic cost of a funeral.

Kit Malthouse: The Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payments continue to meet the necessary costs of a cremation or burial for eligible claimants. Average payments have increased year-on-year to meet these necessary costs. We have had to make difficult choices about welfare spending and it has not been possible to increase the £700 maximum for other costs. However we have made interest-free Social Fund Budgeting Loans available for funeral costs in addition to Funeral Expenses Payments. In 2016/17, approximately 27,000 Funeral Expenses Payments were paid worth around £38.6 million. The average payment made has increased in value in the past ten years by about 28 per cent – from £1,117 in 2006/07 to £1,427 in 2016/17 – as the necessary costs have increased. The Funeral Expenses Payments scheme continues to make a significant contribution towards the cost of a simple funeral for claimants on certain income based benefits or tax credits.

Universal Credit: Feltham and Heston

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information her Department holds on the number of people in Feltham and Heston constituency transferred onto universal credit who are in rent arrears.

Alok Sharma: The information requested is not currently available. In our published research available at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/481865/universal-credit-extended-gateway-evaluation.pdf, the proportion of Universal Credit claimants who were in arrears at the start of their claim fell by a third after four months. To note, the relevant section is Page 33, Table 3.5. This report is from 2015. Additionally, research carried out by the National Federation of ALMOs shows over three quarters of their tenants come onto Universal Credit with pre-existing rent arrears. This research can be accessed at http://www.almos.org.uk/include/getDoc.php?did=7944&fid=9326. To note, the relevant section is page 10, section 3. We are currently carrying out further analysis of this issue with a number of housing providers, to investigate and understand the true level of rent arrears for their tenants, what is causing them and any impacts Universal Credit may be having. It will be published when completed.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Import Controls

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much money from the public purse his Department has spent on the introduction of a new national import control system for animals, animal products and high risk food and feed when the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice: The preliminary accounting figure for spend to the end of February on building a new national import control system is £2.25 million.

Veterinary Medicine

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on systems for the (a) licensing and (b) marketing of veterinary medicines after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice: Defra and its executive agency the Veterinary Medicines Directorate are making good progress on preparations for leaving the EU related to veterinary medicines. All the potential day 1 issues have been identified and delivery plans are in place to ensure continuity of the licensing and marketing of veterinary medicines, this includes necessary legislative changes and process changes including IT services that may no longer be accessed through the EU. The Veterinary Medicines Directorate has been working closely with its stakeholder groups and other government bodies involved in the regulation of medicines and chemicals.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Conditions of Employment

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of full-time equivalent staff (a) of his Department and (b) employed by his Department's agencies have been employed on fixed-term contracts in each year since 2010.

George Eustice: Please see the attached table 



Number of fixed term contract staff for Defra
(Word Document, 33.5 KB)

Electronic Training Aids

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the consultation on Animal welfare: banning the use of electronic training collars for cats and dogs, published by his Department in March 2018, whether anti-bark dog collars are covered within the scope of that consultation.

George Eustice: Defra’s public consultation, launched on 12 March, on the proposal to introduce a ban on the use of electronic training collars includes anti-bark collars.

Home Office

Engineers and Scientists: Visas

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2018 to Question 128931, on Engineers and Scientists: Visas, for what reason her Department is no longer able to provide the statistics it provided in the Answer of 21 September 2015 to Question 9220 on that same topic.

Caroline Nokes: Data is no longer provided in the format requested. Published data on sponsorship applications can be found in the immigration statistics release.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employer-sponsorship-restricted-certificate-allocations/allocations-of-restricted-certificates-of-sponsorship

Passports: Postal Services

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March to Question 130076, whether her Department collects data on lost data, personal documents and application forms.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office does collect information on lost data, personal documents and applications forms. However, this information is held on internal systems. Only information relating to numbers of personal data related incidents is published as part of the HO Annual Report and Accounts.

Police: Biometrics

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of people from each ethnic group have a custody image on the Police National Database.

Mr Nick Hurd: Information is not available on the ethnicity of those with custody images on the Police National Database (PND).

Police: Biometrics

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the policy to enable individuals who did not receive a criminal conviction to request the deletion of their custody images from the National Police Database.

Mr Nick Hurd: The policy of enabling requests for deletion of custody images is intended to strike a balance between the rights of unconvicted individuals, and the costs which the police would incur if they were required to delete such images whether or not the person requested deletion. The government considers the policy achieves this objective.

National Retail Crime Steering Group

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has made on helping develop a five-year strategy for the National Retail Crime Steering Group.

Victoria Atkins: I am the co-chair of the National Retail Crime Steering Group with the British Retail Consortium. It is an important group that brings together representatives from government departments, the police and the retail sector to focus on the crime issues that affect retailers. The Steering Group has a work plan that has been developed in consultation with its members. This helps to ensure that the work is focused on the retail sector’s crime priorities, such as tackling violence and abuse against retail staff.

Grenfell Tower: Fires

Emma Dent Coad: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to publish statistics on applications by survivors and relatives of victims and survivors under the Grenfell Tower relatives policy.

Caroline Nokes: We have plans to publish statistics about applications made by survivors and relatives of victims and survivors in due course, once the data has been properly assured.

Offenders: Deportation

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many foreign national offenders were deported to each country in each of the last five years.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office does not disclose country specific information regarding deportation of foreign national offenders as its disclosure could prejudice relations between the UK and foreign governments.

Offenders: Deportation

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how long it takes on average to deport a foreign national offender between their release from custody and their departure from the UK in each of the last five years.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office routinely publish quarterly figures on the average length of time to deport a foreign national offender. Figures for the latest quarter can be found by accessing the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-enforcement-data-february-2018

Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer 13 March 2018 to Question 131298 on Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre; of the 98 reports made by a medical practitioner under Rule 35 in Yarl's Wood during Q3 of 2017, how many caseworker reviews of the appropriateness of continued detention led to a detainee's release from detention.

Caroline Nokes: Rule 35 of the Detention Centre Rules 2001 sets out the process by which doctors in immigration removal centres must report to the Home Office cases in which they have concerns that:a detainee’s health is likely to be injuriously affected by detention (35(1));a detainee is suspected of having suicidal intentions (35(2)); ora detainee may have been the victim of torture (35(3)).On receipt of a Rule 35 report, the Home Office caseworker must review the appropriateness of the detainee’s continued detention in conjunction with consideration of the adults at risk in immigration detention policy.The total number of releases from all Immigration Removal Centres (IRC) because of Rule 35 during Q3 2017 is 102 and is published as part of the Transparency publication under the category ‘Reports made by a medical practitioner under Rule 35 by place of detention’. This can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-dataManagement information indicates that of the 102 total releases in Q3 2017, 26 of these were from Yarl’s Wood IRC. This information has not been assured to the standard of Official Statistics and as internal management information is subject to change.

Asylum: Children

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2018 to Question 131300, how many of the 148 arrivals into the UK from Greece under the Dublin Regulation in Q4 of 2017 were children.

Caroline Nokes: The Dublin III Regulation is a long-standing mechanism between EU Member States to determine responsibility for examining asylum claims.The Home Office published comprehensive data on the number of transfers into the UK from other Dublin states as part of the most recent quarterly Immigration Statistics release on 22/02/2018. The relevant statistics can be found at as_22_q, asylum volume 5 at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-october-to-december-2017-data-tablesThe published statistics are broken down by each article of the Regulation and it is Article 8 which outlines the criteria for the Member State responsible for examining the asylum claims for unaccompanied minors.It is important to note that the full data set includes children transferred as dependent family members under other articles of the Regulation, however a breakdown of these families by age is not published.

Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre: Mobile Phones

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to restore normal mobile connectivity in Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre.

Caroline Nokes: Flooding at the site of a mobile telephone mast close to Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre has resulted in intermittent mobile telephone signals affecting three mobile phone network providers. Repairs are underway and normal service is expected to resume shortly.In the meantime, arrangements are in place at the centre to ensure that any detainee whose mobile phone service is affected can continue to make landline telephone calls and access other means of communication.Detention Services Order 08/2012 sets out the Home Office’s policy on detainees’ possession of mobile phones in immigration removal centres. Detainees are able to retain their own mobile telephones throughout their detention, provided their handset has no recording facility and/or access to the internet. Where a detainee’s handset does not comply with these restrictions they are provided with a suitable handset by the immigration removal centre supplier so that they may maintain contact with friends, family and other means of support.

Immigration: Children

Sarah Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government supports objective 13(g) of the UN's draft Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration to end the practice of child detention in the context of international migration.

Caroline Nokes: The Government broadly supports the principle of ending child detention for immigration purposes. The routine detention of children for immigration purposes in the UK ended in 2010. Under current policy, children may only be detained in a limited number of exceptional circumstances, and for the shortest period necessary.

Department for International Development

International Assistance: Internally Displaced People

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking with foreign governments to help internally displaced people overseas.

Alistair Burt: The UK is committed to meeting the needs of displaced populations, including internally displaced persons (IDPs). 2018 is the 20th anniversary of the International Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and we hope to see a step up in global attention on this issue. In particular, the UK is supportive of the idea of a UN High Level Panel on IDPs to galvanise political and operational action and we are discussing this closely with other interested States and UN agencies.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Assets

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much money his Department has raised from the sale of (a) assets, (b) land and (c) buildings in each year since 2010.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office has not made any sales of a) assets, b) land or c) buildings since 2010.

Scotland Office: Employment Agencies

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will list the external recruitment agencies that are used by his Department's non-departmental public bodies.

David Mundell: The Boundary Commission for Scotland is an advisory non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland. My office runs the appointment process for commissioners as part of our sponsorship role. All Commissioner posts are advertised externally, in line with the public appointments process. My office is not responsible for recruiting staff for the Boundary Commission for Scotland Secretariat.

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office: Beverage Containers

Catherine West: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate has been made of the number of hot drink cups that are (a) used each year and (b) sent for recycling by his Department.

Catherine West: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate has been made by his Department of the number of single use disposable cups that are (a) used and (b) sent for recycling each year.

Oliver Dowden: Information about the number of disposable cups used each year is not held centrally.

Cabinet Office: Former Members

Luke Pollard: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many former Conservative Members of Parliament who were defeated at the 2017 general election and who now work in his Department were appointed after a publicly advertised and open recruitment process.

Oliver Dowden: Special advisers are appointed in accordance with the rules on the appointment of Special Advisers set out in the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, and in line with the Ministerial Code and the Special Adviser Code of Conduct.A named list of all special advisers was published in December, as per the Written Ministerial Statement of 14 December 2017, Official Report, HCWS352. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-adviser-data-releases-numbers-and-costs-december-2017

Civil Servants: Equality

Afzal Khan: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Civil Service Workforce Plan 2016-2020 how many meetings the diversity champion held with race equality groups in on the setting of key targets for inclusivity on grounds of race.

Oliver Dowden: Since publication of the Civil Service Workforce Plan 2016-2020 the Civil Service Permanent Secretary Race Champion, Richard Heaton, has met regularly with internal race equality groups including staff networks and departmental race champions. He has also met or spoken with external race equality experts, including the Civil Service Diversity Advisor Karen Blackett and external search consultants to discuss the priority areas for the Civil Service. The Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy was published in October 2017 which sets out our plans to continue to increase the representation of ethnic minority staff at all levels across the Civil Service.

Government Departments: ICT

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost to the public purse is of the delayed completion by more than three months of Government IT projects since 2010.

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the additional cost to the public purse was of delays of more than three months in the completion of Government IT projects in each Department since 2010.

Oliver Dowden: I refer my Hon. Friend to the answer given to PQ127332 on 26th February.

One Public Estate Programme

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of the number of new jobs created by the One Public Estate Programme in each year since 2013.

Oliver Dowden: To date, the One Public Estate programme has supported the creation of at least 5,740 jobs. A yearly breakdown is shown below.Financial YearJobs created2013/1402014/151372015/163282016/175,2172017/18 (to date)58Total5,740Benefits reported by One Public Estate partnerships must also be accompanied by evidence. In addition to those which have been verified, partnerships have reported further job creation. As such, yearly totals can be expected to rise.

Government Departments: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department takes to assess compliance with the supplier code of conduct.

Oliver Dowden: Suppliers should be open and transparent with government in relation to breaches or suspected breaches of this Supplier Code of Conduct and should promptly notify government of any such breach. If non-compliance with the requirements of this code is reported or alleged, the first step is for government to discuss it with the supplier. If that does not result in a return to compliance, or in cases where the breach is sufficiently grave, government will look towards the eight principles of Corporate Renewal, as outlined in the National Audit Office report published in September 2014 on “Transforming government’s contract management” to rectify the breach.

Government Departments: Smart Devices

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has estimated the number of devices in Government buildings that are connected to the Internet of Things.

Oliver Dowden: This information is not held centrally.

Government Departments: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to paragraph 10 of the procurement policy note, Publication of payment performance statistics published by the Crown Commercial Service in March 2015, how many Mystery Shopper spot checks have been undertaken, when those spot checks took place, and which bodies were subject to those spot checks.

Oliver Dowden: The Mystery Shopper Service undertook 65 spot checks between 2016 and 2017 looking at a range of procurement issues. The public sector bodies involved in these were central government departments, wider public sector bodies (including councils, NHS Trusts and Housing Associations) and the Crown Commercial Service itself (CCS frameworks). Currently, Mystery Shopper is following up on cases where significant recommendations to procurement practice have been made.

Cabinet Office: Welsh Language

Hywel Williams: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what translation arrangements his Department has put in place to enable efficient and accurate handling of Welsh language correspondence from (a) MPs and (b) the general public.

Oliver Dowden: The Cabinet Office has worked with the Welsh Language Commissioner to develop its scheme.Under the principle of equality the Cabinet Office will write in Welsh to an individual, group or organisation which we know works mainly in Welsh, or which has already notified us that it prefers to receive letters in Welsh. It will also respond in Welsh following a face-to face meeting or telephone call conducted in Welsh where follow-up correspondence is required (unless they have indicated they would prefer a response in English).

Cabinet Office: Apprentices

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the proportion of staff currently employed by his Department who are apprentices.

Oliver Dowden: As set out in the Civil Service apprenticeship strategy, the Civil Service has pledged to achieve 30,000 apprenticeship starts in England by 2020, annually delivering 2.3% of our workforce in England as apprenticeship starts.Public sector organisations with 250 or more staff in England have an apprenticeships target of 2.3% of their headcount between April 2017 and March 2021. The target is for new apprenticeship starts, which includes new hires and existing staff that begin an apprenticeship.. The Civil Service is subject to the target and is treated as one organisation for this purpose. The target is assessed as an average over four years between April 2017 and March 2021, and is set annually by taking 2.3 per cent of headcount in England the day before the financial year begins.

Cabinet Office: Written Questions

Afzal Khan: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to answer Question 127351, Question 127353, and Question 127354, tabled on 7 February 2018 by the hon. Member for Manchester Gorton.

Oliver Dowden: I refer the Hon. Member to the answers to PQ127351 and PQ127354 given on 14th March 2018 and the answer to PQ127353 given on 21st March.

Cabinet Office: Buildings

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of his Department's estate is (a) rented, (b) owned and (c) occupied through any other type of agreement.

Oliver Dowden: Of the total floor space occupied by the Cabinet Office 6% is currently rented, 52% is owned and 42% is occupied through other types of agreement (mainly Memorandum of Terms of Occupation, Licences or sub-leases with other government departments).

One Public Estate Programme

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 28 February 2018 to Question 128314 on One Public Estate Programme, what progress the Government has made on recruiting more experts; and to which specialisms the Government is recruiting.

Oliver Dowden: The One Public Estate (OPE) programme is establishing a Pool of Experts to support local OPE partnerships to deliver property-based projects. At present, 26 experts have been accepted into the Pool, across 4 specialisms, as set out below;SpecialismExpertsMasterplanning2Feasibility and Options Appraisals2Surveying (Building) (Chartered) (Quantity) 12 (9) (3) (0)Project Management10Total (to date)26The programme’s selection process is still underway and a further 13 individuals are currently going through the application process.

Urban Areas: Royal Charters

Sir David Amess: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the criteria are for a town to gain city status.

Chloe Smith: City status is a rare distinction conferred by the Queen acting on the advice of ministers. When a competition for city status is held, criteria are not specified as the qualities which towns possess are extremely varied and every application is judged on its merits.

Government Departments: Statistics

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure the production of statistics to a common, harmonised standard after the UK exits the European Union.

Chloe Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response 
(PDF Document, 127.54 KB)

Electoral Register: Students

Cat Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking with the Department for Education to implement the student electoral registration provision of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017.

Chloe Smith: The Cabinet Office and Department for Education worked together on the public consultation that led to the issuing of Ministerial Guidance to the Office for Students (OfS) on electoral registration. The guidance is available at: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/1019/facilitating-electoral-registration-guidance.pdfThe OfS is now in the process of drafting guidance to HE providers which will be made available later this year.

Elections

Cat Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to simplify electoral law.

Chloe Smith: We are working with the Law Commissions on how best to implement the recommendations of their review of electoral law.We have agreed with the Law Commissions and key electoral stakeholders possible means of effecting reform through the drafting of secondary legislation. Work is underway on this by the Law Commissions, who will be supported by Cabinet Office and the Electoral Commission.

Returning Officers

Cat Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department plans to review the appointment of Regional Returning Officers.

Chloe Smith: In each of the 12 electoral regions used for the purposes of European Parliamentary elections in the United Kingdom and Gibraltar there is a Regional Returning Officer who is responsible for the overall conduct of the election of MEPs in their electoral region. Once the UK has left the European Union, we will no longer take part in European Parliamentary elections. We intend to repeal the legislation governing European Parliamentary elections and therefore the role of Regional Returning Officer for these polls will no longer exist.

Department for International Trade

Small Businesses: Exports

Emma Little Pengelly: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he is taking to support small and medium-sized enterprises' to export after the UK leaves the EU.

Graham Stuart: I refer [my honourable friend] to the answer my Rt Hon Friend the Minister of State for Trade Policy gave to the hon Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North (Catherine McKinnell) on 12 March 2018 to Question 131181.

Metals: Imports

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the EU on imposing safeguards on steel and aluminium imports into the EU in order to protect our industries from redirected imports.

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions he has had with the European Commission on the potential for bringing a case to the WTO against the USA in respect of steel tariffs.

Greg Hands: My Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade has been in close contact with Commissioner Malmstroem and has spoken to her directly about this matter by telephone.This Department’s officials have been and will continue to be in close contact with their EU counterparts, through bilateral conversations and in the relevant Council bodies, such as the Trade Policy Committee. We will continue to be engaged on this matter and will work closely with the EU on how we can protect our industry from S232 provisions.

Import Duties: USA

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the potential for some countries to receive exemptions from the tariffs imposed on steel and aluminium imports; and what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of those counties receiving such an exemption on the countries that are not exempt.

Greg Hands: The Prime Minister has raised her concerns directly with President Trump and my Right Honourable Friend, the Secretary of State for International Trade has spoken on several occasions to the Commerce Secretary and to the US Trade Representative about the investigation, including when he travelled to Washington last week for face-to-face meetings with both, to make the case for the UK as part of the EU.Since the President asked the Department of Commerce to launch the investigation into the national security impact of steel and aluminium imports last April, the Government have made clear to the Administration on repeated occasions, the potentially damaging impact of tariffs on the UK and the EU steel and aluminium industries. As part of its response to these US measures, the EU can apply a safeguard measure of its own to protect the steel and aluminium industries from being damaged by an influx of exports to the EU, caused by the displacing effect of US tariffs.

Iron and Steel: Exports

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how he plans to increase market access for UK steel to existing and new markets in order to make up for any loss of market access in the US.

Graham Stuart: HM Government has been supporting the case for free trade globally by taking up the case with the US Government. Last week the Secretary of State was in the US supporting our steel manufacturers and made the case that there should be an exemption from the provisions of S232 for the EU.UK steel companies will receive full support overseas through our international network and we also assist UK companies to work together in consortia to unlock larger opportunities. Additionally, UK Export Finance can help exporters in the steel sector to trade internationally through provision of competitive financial support and insurance.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Broadband: Essex

Mrs Kemi Badenoch: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the timetable is for completing the phase 4 roll-out of the Superfast Essex scheme; and what steps will be taken to support people in target areas who fail to receive the intended higher levels of broadband connectivity.

Margot James: Superfast Essex is one of the first BDUK projects to undertake a Phase 4 and has an ambition to ensure that at least 99% of premises in Essex have access to superfast broadband by the end of 2021. Superfast Essex’s Phase 4 is a two-part procurement with Phase 4a currently at the evaluation stage. Phase 4b of the procurement is planned for launch in the summer. Deployment plans are not yet set and will be published by Superfast Essex once Phase 4 has been contracted and mobilised. Plans for the remaining ‘unconnected’ areas will be shaped once Phase 4 contracts are awarded and the size of the remaining gap is known. As confirmed in our announcement in December 2017 we are pushing ahead with our plans for a Universal Service Obligation (USO) so that, by 2020, everyone across the UK will have a clear, enforceable right to 10 Megabit per second broadband.

Football

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what information his Department holds on the amount of money invested by the Premier League in grassroots football in each year since 2013-14.

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what information his Department holds on how the Premier League has distributed its funding for grassroots football projects since the start of the 2016-17 football season.

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what meetings he or Ministers of his Department have had with (a) the Premier League and (b) the FA on the issue of grassroots football in the last twelve months.

Tracey Crouch: Between 2013-2016, The Premier League invested £183 million in total into community school sport, delivering participation programmes and creating new public sports facilities. In 2016, DCMS agreed that grassroots football will benefit from at least £100 million a year on investment from the Premier League – double the previous commitment. This runs to 2019 and is set out in “Sporting Future” the Government’s strategy for sport. The £100m a season currently goes to a range of activities, including investment in facilities, school sport, projects that encourage sports participation and tackle social health and wellbeing issues, that support disability and girls football, diversity and anti-racism programmes, player welfare and to organisations that give a voice to fans. Further information on all Premier League grassroots activities can be found in their published annual report ‘available at www.premierleague.com/this-is-pl/the-communities DCMS Ministers continue to meet with the EPL and FA on a regular basis to discuss a variety of matters, including to ensure that the grassroots benefits from a healthy proportion of the broadcast rights revenue generated by the Premier League and any commercial surplus made by the FA.

Tourism: East Midlands

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of public funding for tourism in (a) the East Midlands and (b) Mansfield in the last five years.

Michael Ellis: Tourism expenditure for all East Midlands local authorities is shown in the following table. We do not hold information on individual local authorities. This information is primarily from the Ministry for Housing, Central and Local Government. YearNet Current Expenditure (£000’s)2011/125,3962012/134,9892013/144,7722014/155,2812015/164,577

Tennis: Public Participation

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the Lawn Tennis Association on the accessibility of lawn tennis to people with (a) different socioeconomic backgrounds and (b) the protected characteristics listed in section 4 of the Equality Act 2010.

Tracey Crouch: Everyone, regardless of their age, background and level of ability, should feel able to get involved in sport and physical activity. The government and Sport England strategies, Sporting Future’ and ‘Towards an Active Nation’, place a clear emphasis on targeting those who are hardest to reach and less likely to be active, including those from lower socio-economic groups and those with protected characteristics. I have regular discussions with national governing bodies of sport, including the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), on a range of issues including diversity.

Tourism

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of gross value added has been generated by the tourism sector in each of the regions of England in each of the last five years.

Michael Ellis: The latest data of regional GVA was for 2013. This data is held by the Office of National Statistics. The results are as follow: RegionTourism direct gross value added (£ millions) in regions and nations of the UK in 2013London15391.4South East8240.2North West5799.8South West5517.6East of England4304.2West Midlands3757.6Yorkshire and The Humber3244.8East Midlands2573.6North East1578.0Total England50,407.2

Cultural Heritage

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the proportion of gross value added is which has been generated by the heritage sector in each region of England in each of the last five years.

Michael Ellis: The figures in the table below show the proportion (%) of regional gross value added (GVA) generated by the Heritage Sector across each region in England in the last five years, based on DCMS economic estimates, and without adjusting for inflation. It is however recognised that our published estimates are likely to be an underestimate for the Heritage sector due to a narrow definition of the sector. We are working with Historic England to address this matter. GVA for DCMS sectors can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/684142/Regional_GVA_2016_SubSector_tables.xlsx   Proportion of regional GVA generated by the Heritage Sector across each region of England over the last five yearsYearNorth EastNorth WestYorkshire and The HumberEast MidlandsWest MidlandsEastLondonSouth EastSouth West20120.10.050.050.060.070.030.030.140.0720130.090.020.030.020.060.020.020.120.0520140.110.020.040.040.060.040.020.130.0720150.160.020.030.040.010.050.020.160.0720160.130.020.020.040.010.040.020.170.07

Tourism

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many jobs have been generated by the tourism industry in England in each of the last five years; and what the value of tourism was to the economy in each of those years.

Michael Ellis: Jobs created due to direct tourism and tourism’s economic contribution through GVA are presented below. YearJobs (000s)Percentage change from previous yearGVA (£bn)Percentage change from previous yearPercentage of UK GVA20111,457-53,947-14.120121,5325%57,3446.3%13.920131,6045%58,9972.9%14.120141,432-11%60,4382.4%13.920151,5317%64,6427.0%14.22016(p)1,504-2%66,0652.2%14.2 This data can be sourced at the Office of National Statistics and the DCMS Sectors Economic Estimates for 2017.

Tourism

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what information his Department holds on the number of (a) domestic and (b) international tourism visits made to each region of England in each of the last five years.

Michael Ellis: VisitBritain’s data for this is as follows:  Domestic overnight trip volume – All trip purposes (Millions) 20122013201420152016North East England4.33.93.73.83.3North West England14.214.012.713.612.0Yorkshire and The Humber11.310.09.511.39.3East Midlands8.57.97.18.07.3West Midlands8.59.07.38.88.9East of England9.99.09.09.79.5London12.212.311.412.912.1South East England17.917.916.216.818.4South West England19.719.417.319.720.4Total England106.5103.494.2104.6101.2Domestic day visit volume (Millions) 201220132014201520162017North East England868572647582North West England196184184183191189Yorkshire and The Humber162154152138149149East Midlands128118109112119119West Midlands147153137131142127East of England145151150136140133London362301315322337328Total England1,2261,1461,1191,0861,1531,127   International trip volume – All trip purposes (Millions) 20122013201420152016London15,46116,81117,40418,58119,060North East427427473576560North West2,3112,4082,5122,6742,839Yorkshire1,0921,2131,3671,2901,362West Midlands1,5631,8411,9522,1182,196East Midlands9221,0661,0191,1261,334East Of England1,9461,9972,1062,1922,406South West2,0172,1992,1942,3782,501South East4,3084,5354,6475,1415,214Total England26,80228,52229,82331,82032,970

Tourism

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what information he holds on the amount of funding spent by local authorities on tourism in each region of England in each of the last five years.

Michael Ellis: The most recent Local Authorities tourism expenditure is logged as per the attached table.



Local Authority Spending
(PDF Document, 121.19 KB)

House of Commons Commission

House of Commons: Catering

Chris Stephens: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2018 to Question 131599 on House of Commons: Catering, what guidance is available to customers who wish to pay a (a) tip and (b) gratuity to House of Commons catering staff by (i) cash and (ii) debit or credit card; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Brake: On all dining room bills and menus the following information is written:‘Tips given in cash are shared amongst all front of house staff, tips given on credit cards are distributed to permanent front of house staff’When paying by debit or credit card only, the payment handheld machine will ask if the customer wishes to pay a tip or gratuity, yes or no.The facility for paying tips or gratuities is only available in dining rooms and bars.There is no facility to be able to pay for a tip or gratuity in most cafeterias or café bars. This is due to these venues being deemed as self-help although tip boxes are available for customers to give tips in some venues and this is shared amongst the staff.On all banqueting events a 12.5% service charge on room hire and food and beverage spend is applied and distributed to staff via their monthly pay.Catering staff have been made aware of these arrangements to help inform customers.

House of Commons: Catering

Chris Stephens: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2018 to Question 131599 on House of Commons: Catering, how long a House of Commons catering staff member has to wait to receive a (a) tip and (b) gratuity from a customer using a bank card; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Brake: Catering Staff receive their tip or gratuity from a customer using a bank card within 4–6 weeks.

House of Commons: Catering

Chris Stephens: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, further to the Answer of 14 March 2018 to Question 131599, on House of Commons: Catering, what (a) policies and (b) procedures are in place to ensure House of Commons catering services staff are paid any (i) tips and (ii) gratuities from a paying customer; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Brake: The Catering Service ensures that all tips and gratuities given to staff are paid to staff.Payments from tips and gratuities are administered in the following way.Currently, tips and gratuities given by customers are distributed between directly employed front-of-house staff in all catering venues.Where a gratuity is given by card or on account these payments are collated and recorded centrally and then the value of each tip distributed between the relevant named staff members each month. Managers currently have an element of discretion in this process. Cash tips are treated separately in each venue and distributed amongst the team at the discretion of the venue manager.The terms for agency staff are different. They do not receive gratuities given by card or on account, though they may receive cash tips at the discretion of the venue manager, because payments are made on a monthly basis using the PAYE system. Distributing small sums between agency staff, who are not paid directly by the House and may only work one shift during the month, would be administratively burdensome.

Department of Health

Tobacco: Packaging

Alex Burghart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the introduction of plain cigarette packaging on smoking rates.

Steve Brine: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 03 November 2017.The correct answer should have been:

The Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations 2015 came into force on 20 May 2016. The Government consulted on the introduction of standardised packaging and published an impact assessment, which included benefits to public health. The Government will review these regulations by 2021 2020.

Steve Brine: The Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations 2015 came into force on 20 May 2016. The Government consulted on the introduction of standardised packaging and published an impact assessment, which included benefits to public health. The Government will review these regulations by 2021 2020.